To keep you sneakers looking fresh forever there’s a few key steps to take. This applies when you’re shopping for new shoes, just opening a pair of new shoes, or trying to refresh an old pair.

Start with Quality

Many shoe brands today are offering high quality materials at lower prices than they were traditionally available. To get a pair of sneakers with full grain or calfskin leather (the highest quality leather in footwear) your prices will start ~$160USD. Look for full grain leather - this will age well over time and be easy to care for with creams and polishes. Also look for a fully leather lined interior. This will help keep the shoes comfortable for longer than fabric linings and fight odor from your stinky feet (we’re all guilty)

Margom soles or high grade rubber is also critical. This will help extend the life of the shoes by reducing the wear and tear on the heel of the shoe that many guys experience.

Treat them well

A shoe horn is your friend. Keep the back of the shoe looking sturdy and comfortable by protecting it with a shoe horn. Many of these sneakers in the $200 price point will come with a simple plastic one.

Use cedar shoe trees. This will extract moisture from the shoes and leave them refreshed. The shoe trees also help keep the form of the shoes so the leather looks as good as possible over time.

Finally - condition and clean them with leather care products. Saddle soap is a great general purpose product to start which can be used once every few months to keep the leather looking sharp af.

Follow these steps and you’ll keep those sneakers longer instead of buying a new cheap pair every few years.

Here are some links to the products you can add to your shoe care collection:

1. Shoe Trees: http://thekavalier.reviews/Shoe-Trees

2. Saphir Products: http://thekavalier.reviews/Saphir-Products

3. Saddle Soap: http://thekavalier.reviews/Fiebings-Saddle-Soap

4. Shoe Horn (Comes with most mid-high end shoes)